MHI himself provides an answer to your question in his interview with the CBC television programme 'Man Alive'.

Q: There seems to be a contradiction here - with your jet set hotels, horses and your concern for the environment in the third world and yet you don't, really seek much publicity for the development work you do!

A: I think it would be extremely unwise to spend ones time correcting images which were images of the Western world which is not primarily my area of concern. I think it's much more productive frankly that I devote the time that 1 have to the Developing world to the mandate which I have to complete the work or try to complete the work that needs to be done. 1 think if you were to ask questions about what the Aga Khan does in India or Pakistan or East Africa, you'd get a totally different answer from what you would here. That must be my concern.

The University of Cambridge has today announced the names of 12 distinguished people, to be submitted for approval to the Regent House for the conferment of honorary degrees.

Ten eminent individuals from the worlds of religion, business, science, music, history, philanthropy, politics and economics are proposed for Honorary Doctorates, and two nominations are made for the Honorary Degree of Master of Arts.

Those submitted are:

His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussayni, the Aga Khan (Doctor of Divinity)
Mrs Melinda Gates, Philanthropist (Doctor of Law)
Mr Bill Gates (William Henry Gates III), Philanthropist and Chairman of the Microsoft Corporation (Doctor of Law)
Baroness (Shirley) Williams of Crosby, Honorary Fellow of Newnham College, Public Service Professor of Elective Politics Emerita in the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (Doctor of Law)
Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, Professor of Biology and Physiology at the University of California, San Francisco (Doctor of Science)
Professor Wallace Broecker, Climatologist, Columbia University (Doctor of Science)
Professor Sir Peter Crane, the John & Marion Sullivan Professor in the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago, former Director of Kew Gardens (Doctor of Science)
Professor Amartya Sen, Fellow and former Master of Trinity College. Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. Nobel Laureate in Economics (Doctor of Letters)
Professor Wang Gungwu, Director of the East Asian Institute, Singapore. Historian of China and the Chinese (Doctor of Letters)
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Composer and conductor (Doctor of Music)

Mr Allan Brigham, Local historian and guide (Master of Arts)
Sir Miles Hunt-Davis, Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the University, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh (Master of Arts)
It is expected that that the honorary doctorates will be conferred at a Congregation to be held on Friday, 12 June. The honorary MA degrees for Allan Brigham and Sir Miles Hunt-Davis are expected to be conferred at a Congregation on Saturday, 18 July.

MORE than 25,000 book lovers are expected to give the Oxford economy a boost as they arrive for the city’s annual literary festival.

This year, the festival at Christ Church has been extended to run for an extra day from Sunday, March 29, to Sunday, April 5.

Tei Williams, a spokesman for the literary festival, said: “The festival is in its 14th year and can now attract world-class names including AS Byatt and Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

“We are now firmly on the literary festival map and can’t be far behind Cheltenham and Hay.”

Festival organiser Sally Dunsmore added: “I think this is our best line-up ever and reflects the international status of Oxford. People are coming from all over the world to talk at this festival.”

Sponsors include the Sunday Times, The Oxford Times, Blackwell’s, The Randolph Hotel and the Aga Khan.

City councillor Colin Cook, executive member for the city centre, said: “The Oxford Literary Festival is a real financial boost for the city because many visitors use hotels and restaurants and spend money in the shops.

“I’m sure it’s an event that businesses in the city look forward to every year because they know it will give them a lift.

“It’s great to see the festival bigger than ever this year and that certainly bodes well for the future.”

He was an honorary pallbearer at the funeral of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. On October 2nd, 2000, he stood with other dignitaries including Cuban strongman Fidel Castro and former US President Jimmy Carter in Montreal's magnificent Notre-Dame Basilica, the only Muslim in a sea of Christians. But no one could tell he was an outsider. For all appearances, the Aga Khan looked and acted like a rich white man, down to his thousand-dollar suit and his mannerisms and his Prince Charles-like English accent.

But Prince Karim Aga Khan, 70, a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima who was born in Switzerland, is a self-admitted Asian and one with a most unusual status.

Among the developing nations, from Pakistan to Tanzania, he is accorded the status of a head of state. And indeed he rules more people than many small countries. The Aga Khan – a hereditary title first bestowed on his great great-grandfather by the Shah of Persia in 1818 – is the 49th Imam (spiritual and general leader) of the Ismaili Niz&#257;r&#299;s, a sect of the Shi'a Ismaili formed in 765 AD, which now has up to 20 million followers scattered all over the world.

The Ismailis are well educated, self-contained, model citizens in their host countries and totally dedicated to the Aga Khan. The tributes they regularly give to their leader – in one famous incident, they put his grandfather Mohammad Aga Khan, on one end of a large scale and balanced the other with his weight in gold and diamonds as a birthday present – enables the current Aga Khan to invest up to US$150 million each year in projects helping developing nations.

Before Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the Aga Khan had been working hard to reduce poverty and to raise education levels, especially that of women, in the Third World.

In 1957, at age 20, he unexpectedly inherited the title and all its responsibilities because his grandfather decided to bypass his father (a playboy who was once married to Hollywood star Rita Hayward) and pass the mantle to his Harvard-graduate grandson.

Prince Karim founded the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), today one of the largest private development networks in the world. His connections opened doors to AKDN in the Third World that are close to other agencies.

In war-torn Afghanistan, the AKDN has raised US$400 million for various development projects, with a large chunk of money coming from its own resources. In Pakistan he founded the first private university. Two months ago he visited Tanzania and promised to spend US$450 million to build a university there.

As religious leader, the Aga Khan is a moderate voice in a world increasingly divided by Bush-like anti-terrorist countries and the Islamic world. The Aga Khan has openly chided the West for not trying to understand Islam and gone on record to state that many of today’s so-called fundamental Islamic movements are more political than religious in nature.

Unlike other Islamic leaders, his voice is heard in the West, since he hobnobs with western leaders in public and private occasions. Pierre Trudeau, for example, was a personal friend who opened the door to Canada for Asians, among them many Ismailis, when Idi Amin chased them out of Uganda in the 1970s. Today there are 45,000 Ismailis in Canada, some occupying high government positions. So far the Aga Khan has kept a low profile. But in time to come, this King Without A Throne may find himself in much demand as a moderator.

The Global Philanthropy Forum aims to build a community of donors and social investors committed to international causes, and to inform, enable and enhance the strategic nature of their giving and social investing.

By continually refreshing a lasting learning community, the GPF seeks to increase the number of philanthropists who will be strategic in pursuit of international causes. We share a conviction that individuals are not only capable of advancing human security, environmental stewardship, and improved quality of life, but that they must.

Washington, DC, 23 April 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan delivered a keynote speech at the 8th annual Global Philanthropy Forum. The Aga Khan also met with The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Secretary of State, at the State Department prior to delivering the address to participants at the Global Philanthropy Forum.

Please also see Related Speech

His Highness the Aga Khan meeting with The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Secretary of State, at the State Department.

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Photo credit: AKDN / Zahur Ramji

His Highness the Aga Khan speaking to the Global Philanthropy Forum.

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Photo credit: AKDN / Zahur Ramji

His Highness the Aga Khan speaking to the Global Philanthropy Forum.

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His Highness the Aga Khan with Mr Walid Hareb, Chief Award Co-ordinator of the Zayed International Humanitarian Award at the Reception following the Keynote address.

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Photo credit: AKDN / Zahur Ramji

His Highness with Tanzania’s Ambassador to the USA Mr Ombeni Sefue as other delegates look on at the Reception.

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Photo credit: AKDN / Zahur Ramji

Speech:

Speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Global Philanthropy Forum
23 April 2009

President Jane Wales, thank you for those very generous comments.

I’d like to say how happy I am to share in this year’s Global Philanthropy Forum.

Participants,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a special pleasure for me to be with you tonight, for I look upon you as particularly serious and informed partners in the work of global understanding and international development.

As you may know, I recently marked my 50th anniversary in my role as Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. This responsibility connects me intimately with the traditions of the Islamic faith and cultures, even while my education and a host of personal and professional associations have acquainted me with the non-Islamic West. The relationship of these two worlds is a subject of considerable importance for me – a relationship which some define, regrettably, as an inevitable Clash of Civilizations. My own observation, however – and my deep conviction – is that we can more accurately describe it as a Clash of Ignorances.

It is not my purpose tonight to detail the misunderstandings which have plagued this relationship. Let me only submit that educational systems on both sides have failed mightily in this regard – and so have some religious institutions. That – at this time in human history – the Judeo Christian and Muslim societies should know so little about one another never ceases to astonish – to stun – and to pain me.

As a Muslim leader speaking in Washington this evening, it seems appropriate that I cite the words of President Obama, in his recent speech in Ankara. As he put it, pledging a “broader engagement with the Muslim world, we will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground.” I know that the vast majority of the Islamic world shares these objectives.

Among the areas where we can find common ground is our mutual effort to address the problem of persistent global poverty, especially the endemic poverty of the developing world. Surely this is an area where we can listen and learn and grow together – establishing ever-stronger bonds of understanding. One of the great principles of Islam, in all its interpretations, is the elimination of poverty in society, and philanthropy's centrality in this duty.

When I succeeded my grandfather as Aga Khan in 1957, I was a student at Harvard – but speaking mostly French. I got extra English practice, however, from my new official routine of regular communication with Africa and Asia – and, in the bargain, was kept in great good humour by the amazing typographic errors which inevitably arose. But then computerized spell check programs came along - and all those charming idiosyncrasies disappeared!

I recently noticed, to my joy, however, that this new invention is not a fail safe protection. Consider this recent item in the publication “The Week: “Bad week for spell-check: Several Pennsylvania high school students had their last names changed in their yearbook by an automatic computer program, Alessandra Ippolito was listed as Alexandria Impolite, while Max Zupanovic was rechristened Max Supernova. And Kathy Carbaugh’s photo appeared next to the name Kathy Airbag.”

After reading this, I decided that maybe I should act prudently and spell check my own name. And I found that, while there was no “Aga Khan”, there was an “Aga” Cooker. It was defined as one of England’s oldest stoves and ovens – now somewhat outdated – but with a distinctive whistle every time it frizzled the food within!

But returning to a more serious topic let me submit this evening a few of my own reflections on the developing world that I know a central focus of my interests over fifty years. For, in coming to understand the life of widely dispersed Ismaili communities across the globe, I have also become immersed in their host societies.

The essential goal of global development has been to create and sustain effective nation states – coherent societies that are well governed, economically self-sustaining, equitable in treating their peoples, peaceful amongst themselves, and sensitive to their impact on planetary sustainability.

This is a complex objective, a moving target, and a humbling challenge. Sadly, the response in the places I know best has often been “one step forward and two steps back.“ Today, some forty percent of UN member nations are categorized as “failed democracies” – unable to meet popular aspirations for a better quality of life. The recent global economic crisis – along with the world food crisis – has sharply accentuated these problems.

But why have our efforts to change that picture over five decades not borne greater fruit? Measured against history, where have things gone wrong? Given the progress we have made in so many fields, why have we been so relatively ineffective in sharing that progress more equitably, and in making it more permanent?

My response centers on one principal observation: I believe the industrialized world has often expected developing societies to behave as if they were similar to the established nation states of the West, forgetting the centuries, and the processes which molded the Western democracies. Forgotten, for one thing, is the fact that economic development in Western nations was accompanied by massive urbanization. Yet today, in the countries of Asia and Africa where we work, over 70 percent of the population is rural. If you compare the two situations, they are one and a half to two and half centuries apart. Similarly, the profound diversity of these impoverished societies, infinitely greater than that among nascent European nation states, is too often unrecognized, or under-estimated, or misunderstood. Ethnic, religious, social, regional, economic, linguistic and political diversities are like a kaleidoscope that history shakes every day.

One symptom of this problem has been the high failure rate of constitutional structures in many developing countries, often because minority groups – who often make up the bulk of the population – fear they will be marginalized by any centralized authority. But did today’s developed countries not face similar challenges as they progressed toward nationhood?

If there is an historic misperception here, it has had several consequences for development activities.

The first concerns what I would call the dominant player fallacy – a tendency to place too much reliance in national governments and other institutions which may have relatively superficial connections to life at the grass-roots level.

Urban-based outsiders often look at these situations from the perspective of the city center looking out to a distant countryside, searching for quick and convenient levers of influence. Those who look from the bottom-up, however, see a much much more complex picture. The lines of force in these rural societies are often profoundly centrifugal, reflecting a highly fragmented array of influences. But was this not also true during the building of Western nation states?

Age old systems of religious, tribal or inherited family authority still have enormous influence in these societies. Local identities which often cross the artificial frontiers of the colonial past are more powerful than outsiders may assume. These values and traditions must be understood, embraced, and related to modern life, so that development can build on them. We have found that these age-old forces are among the best levers we have for improving the quality of life of rural peoples, even in cross frontier situations.

Nation building may require centralized authority, but if that authority is not trusted by rural communities, then instability is inevitable. The building of successful nation states in many of the countries in which I work will depend – as it did in the West – on providing significantly greater access for rural populations, who are generally in the majority.

If these reflections are well founded, then what is urgently needed is a massive, creative new development effort towards rural populations. Informed strategic thinking at the national level must be matched by a profound, engagement at the local level. Global philanthropy, public private partnerships and the best of human knowledge must be harnessed. As the World Bank recognized in its recent Poverty Study, local concerns must be targeted, providing roads and markets, sharpening the capacities of village governments, working to smooth social inequalities, and improving access to health and education services. The very definition of poverty is the absence of such quality of life indicators in civil society among rural populations.

It is in this context that I must share with you tonight my concern that too much of the developmental effort – especially in the fields of health and education - have been focused on urban environments.

I whole-heartedly support, for example, the goal of free and universal access to primary education. But I would just as whole-heartedly challenge this objective if it comes at the expense of secondary and higher education. How can credible leadership be nurtured in rural environments when rural children have nowhere to go after primary school? The experience of the Aga Khan Development Network is that secondary education for rural youth is a condition sine qua non for sustainable progress.

Similarly despite various advances in preventive medicine, rural peoples – often 70% of the population – are badly served in the area of curative care. Comparisons show sharp rural disadvantages in fields such as trauma care and emergency medicine, curbing infant mortality, or diagnosing correctly the need for tertiary care. Building an effective nation state, today as in earlier centuries, requires that the quality of rural life must be a daily concern of government. Ideally, national progress should be as effective, as equitable, and as visible, over similar time-frames, in rural areas as in urban ones. Amongst other considerations, how else will we be able to slow, if not stop, the increasing trend of major cities of Asia and Africa to become ungovernable human slums?

From this general analysis, let me turn to our own experience. The Aga Khan Development Network, if only as a matter of scale, is incapable of massively redressing the rural-urban imbalances where we work. It is possible, however, to focus on areas of extreme isolation, extreme poverty and extreme potential risk - where human despair feeds the temptation to join criminal gangs or local militia or the drug economy. The World Bank refers to these areas as “lagging regions”. We have focused recently on three prototypical situations.

Badakhshan is a sensitive region of eastern Tajikistan and eastern Afghanistan where the same ethnic community is divided by a river which has now become a national border, and where both communities live in extreme poverty and are highly isolated from their respective capitals of Dushanbe and Kabul. There is a significant Shia Ismaili Muslim presence in both areas.

Southern Tanzania and Northern Mozambique is a region of eastern Africa where large numbers of rural Sunni Muslims live in extreme poverty. A third case, Rural Bihar, in India, involves six states where the Sachar Committee Report, commissioned by the Indian government, has courageously described how Muslim peoples have been distanced from the development story since 1947.

All three of these regions are works in progress. The first two are post conflict situations, relatively homogeneous, and sparsely populated, while the third is densely populated, and culturally diverse. All three have acute potential to become explosive, and our AKDN goal is to identify such areas as primary targets for philanthropy.

We have also developed a guiding concept in approaching these situations. We call it Multi-Input Area Development – or MIAD. An emphasis on multiple inputs is a crucial consequence of looking at the development arena from the bottom up. Singular inputs alone cannot generate, in the time available, and across the spectrum of needs, sufficient effective change to reverse trends towards famine or towards conflict.

Similarly, we want to measure outcomes in such cases by a more complex array of criteria. What we call our Quality of Life Assessments go beyond simple economic measurements – considering the broad array of conditions – quantitative and qualitative – which the poor themselves take into account when they assess their own well-being.

Secretary Clinton echoed the concern for multiple inputs and multiple assessments when she mentioned to you yesterday the need for diversified partnerships among governments, philanthropies, businesses, NGO’s, universities , unions, faith communities and individuals. The Aga Khan network includes partners from most of these categories – sustaining our Multi-Input strategy. I applaud her concern – and yours – for the importance of such alliances.

Northern Pakistan provides another example, in a challenging high mountain environment, of a complex approach to rural stabilization. Innovations in water and land management have been accompanied by a new focus on local choice through village organizations. A "productive public infrastructure" has emerged, including roads, irrigation channels, and small bridges, as well as improved health and education services. Historic palaces and forts along the old Silk Route have been restored and reused as tourism sites, reviving cultural pluralism and pride, diversifying the economy and enlarging the labor market. The provision of micro credit and the development of village savings funds have also played a key role.

For nearly 25 years, we have also worked in a large, once-degraded neighborhood, sprawling among and atop the ruins of old Islamic Cairo – built 1000 years ago by my ancestors, the Fatimid Caliphs. This is an urban location – but occupied by an essentially rural population, striving to become urbanized. The project was environmental and archaeological at the start – but it grew into a residential, recreational and cultural citiscape – which last year attracted 1.8 million visitors. The local population has new access to microcredit and has been trained and employed not only for restoring the complex, but also for maintaining it – as a new expression of civil society.

Because historic sites are often located among concentrations of destitute peoples, they can become a linchpin for development. We work now with such sites as Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul, the old Stone Town in Zanzibar, the Aleppo Citadel in Syria, the historic Moghal sites at New Delhi and Lahore, and the old mud mosques of Mopti and Djenne and Timbuktu, in northern Mali. Altogether, more than one million impoverished people will be touched by these projects. Such investments in restoring the world’s cultural patrimony do not compete with investing in its social and economic development. Indeed, they go hand in hand.

In all these cases, it is the interaction of many elements that creates a dynamic momentum, bringing together people from different classes, cultures, and disciplines, and welcoming partners who live across the street – and partners who live across the planet. Each case is singular, and each requires multiple inputs. And it is here that those present tonight can have such an important impact. Working together on programme development, on sharing specialized knowledge, and on competent implementation, we can all contribute more effectively to the reduction of global poverty.

Let me say in closing, how much I admire the work you are doing, the commitment you feel, and the dreams you have embraced. I hope and trust that we will have many opportunities to renew and extend our sense of partnership as we work toward building strong and healthy nation states around our globe.

If we are to succeed we will need, first, to readjust our orientation by focusing on the immense size and diversity of rural populations whether they are in peri-urban or rural environments. For no-one can dispute, I think, that a large number of the world’s recent problems have been born in the countrysides of the poorest continents.

Finally, we will need to address these problems with a much stronger sense of urgency. What we may have been content to achieve in 25 years, we must now aim to do in 10 years.

Prince Aga Khan, spiritual leader of Ismaili Muslims, coming tonight to Portugal. His agenda includes meeting with the Foreign Minister Luis Amado and the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, D. José Policarpo. On this occasion an agreement will be signed on religion, education and culture, to be followed by a working lunch.

In the afternoon, Prince Aga Khan will be honored at the Academy of Sciences.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world’s Shiite Ismaili Muslims poses after being honoured by France’s Culture Minister Christine Albanel (L) with the Great Patron and Contributor medal of the French Culture ministry, on May 28, 2009 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET

Aga Khan granted the distinction of “Grand Mécène” and “Grand Donateur” by the French Ministry of Culture

Please also see: Communiqué de presse

May 28th 2009, Paris - France’s Minister for Culture, Christine Albanel, honoured the Aga Khan with the titles of Grand Patron (Grand Mécène) and Grand Donor (Grand Donateur) in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cultural development in France through the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of the Chantilly Domain (Fondation pour la sauvegarde et le développement du domaine de Chantilly) as well as the numerous cultural programmes implemented by the cultural agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network throughout the world.

The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's Shiite Ismaili Muslims poses after being honoured by France's Culture Minister Christine Albanel (L) with the Great Patron and Contributor medal of the French Culture ministry, on May 28, 2009 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / JOEL SAGET (Photo credit should read JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

Cambridge, United Kingdom, 12th June 2009 - His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, today received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Cambridge’s Pembroke College – the third oldest of the Cambridge colleges.

The Aga Khan becomes the first Muslim to receive the distinction in the University’s 800 year history.
“As we celebrate our eight hundredth anniversary, it is perhaps fitting that we first honour a man who traces his ancestry to the sixth century, and to the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him,” said Dr Rupert Thompson, classicist and Fellow of Selwyn College, in a citation read out in Latin in keeping with the College’s tradition.

He went on to say: “Since becoming the fourth Aga Khan, he has worked tirelessly through his Development Network to ensure that those who are oppressed by the worst poverty should enjoy a reasonable standard of healthcare, education and financial security.

And this is not humanitarianism, as he says, but the requirement of his faith.”

“The Honorary Doctorate of Divinity is awarded to individuals who have made a global impact through their religious leadership," said Tim Winter, Academic Secretary in the Faculty of Divinity.

"I am delighted that His Highness the Aga Khan, whose charitable and spiritual leadership has a truly worldwide reach, and whose support for scholarship has impacted profoundly on Islamic Studies, should have been chosen for this well-deserved honour.”

The Aga Khan was among a distinguished group of 12 people who were presented Honorary Degrees by the Chancellor of the University, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh.

Bill and Melinda Gates, who both received Doctor of Law degrees, and Professor Amartya Sen, who received a Doctor of Letters, were among the other recipients.

Honorary Doctorates are the University's highest honour.

Recent recipients of the Honorary Doctorate of Divinity include John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Desmond Tutu, the Archbishop of Cape Town, and the United Kingdom’s Chief Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks.

The award of an honorary degree to the Aga Khan coincided with the signing of a scholarship agreement between the Cambridge Overseas Trust and the University of Central Asia (UCA).

The UCA will eventually comprise three campuses being built in moutnainous areas -- in Khorog, Tajikistan; Tekeli, Kazakhstan; and Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic.

The University of Central Asia Cambridge Scholarships, which are fully funded, will enable outstanding young students from Central Asia to study for higher degrees at Cambridge.

The agreement was signed by the Director of the Cambridge Overseas Trust and the Director of the University of Central Asia.

The signing was witnessed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Alison Richard, and His Highness the Aga Khan.

While at Cambridge, the Aga Khan, who was accompanied by members of his family, visited the Pembroke College Library and a special exhibition of the College’s treasures.

OTTAWA (AFP) — Canada's parliament on Friday extended honorary Canadian citizenship to the Aga Khan, imam of the world's Shia Ismaili Muslims, said a statement.

"This is recognition of the Aga Khan's leadership as a champion of development, pluralism and tolerance around the world and of his remarkable leadership as Imam of the worldwide Ismaili community," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"In particular, we are grateful for the immense contribution the Aga Khan Development Network is making in Afghanistan, as we work together to help the people of that country build a better future," he said.

The Aga Khan, Prince Karim Al Husseini, 72, is the spiritual head of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims.

He is the fourth such person to hold the post since the 19th century.

Ismailis make up the world's second largest Shia grouping and are spread throughout 25 countries.

Previously, only four people have ever been extended honorary Canadian citizenship: Myanmar pro-democracy activist and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi last year, and before that Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved the lives of thousands of Jews during the Second World War.

Most Canadian Ismaili Muslims arrived in this country after being forced out of Uganda by its former ruler Idi Amin in the 1970s. They now number roughly 70,000 in Canada.

Canada has partnered with the Aga Khan's agencies on development projects in Asia, Africa and Afghanistan, as well as to promote ethnic, cultural and religious tolerance.

Prince Aga Khan to help renovate National Monument in Portugal
July 21, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan IV, Europe, Portugal.
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Prince Aga Khan and Vasco Pereira Coutinho help replace the roof of the Cathedral in Silves
Translated from Portuguese, source via http://www.barlavento.online.pt

Prince Aga Khan and the Portuguese businessman Vasco Pereira Coutinho are two of the sponsors that will help pay for the work of replacing the roof of the three naves of the Cathedral of Silves, which will cost 350 thousand euros.

The Cathedral of Silves, owned by the State, classified as National Monument since 1922, had shown visible signs of degradation in the lining of the roof, more than six years, ‘having been made the draft proposal for diagnosis and intervention in 2006.

Meridiana’s A319s are based in Florence. The airline owns a 15% stake in this airport, an 80% stake in GEASAR - the Olbia airports company, and a very small holding in Sardinia’s other airport, Cagliari. Meridiana launched Florence-Berlin Tegel services on 3 April.

Unlike Italy’s two biggest airlines, Alitalia and Air One, third-ranked Meridiana tends to keep a relatively low profile from its base at Olbia in Sardinia. The airline began life as Alisarda in 1964, created by the Aga Khan Karim to support tourism in Sardinia. In 1991, when it began international services, it changed its name to Meridiana and has since grown steadily.

Last year the airline carried 4.6 million passengers on a fleet of 22 aircraft, consisting of nine MD82s, nine MD83s and four rather newer A319s. It also wet leases an ATR42 from Avanti Air to operate some of the thinner routes. However, recent reports suggest that it intends to replace most of the fuel-thirsty MD82s and MD83s with new and leased A320s. Profitability has been marginal in recent years (load factors average between 65% and 70%) and the recent surge in fuel prices suggest that significant losses are likely in the short-term.

To enhance its business opportunities the airline is now a majority shareholder in Eurofly, an Italian leisure airline with a fleet of A320s and A330s, but a full merger is not yet planned.

Meridiana owns a 50% holding in Eurofly and hosts its flights as Meridiana products on its website. However, a full merger is not yet planned. It also holds 50% in an important tour operator - WOKITA.COM.

50% of traffic at Sardinia’s two busiest airports
Meridiana’s two busiest airports are Cagliari and Olbia, both in Sardinia. All of its top 10 airports are in Italy though it has surprisingly few flights from either Milan Malpensa or Venice Marco Polo.

Source: OAG Max Online for July 2008

At Cagliari and Olbia Meridiana operates around half of all flights making it the major carrier to and from Sardinia. It also has significant market shares in Florence and Verona.

Source: OAG Max Online for July 2008

Jet-setter with an interest in air transport. Meridiana was originally set up by Aga Khan Karim (right on red carpet) to promote tourism in Sardinia where the spiritual leader of 20 million Ismaili Muslims has long lived.

Meridiana’s A319s are based in Florence from where the airline operates international flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin Tegel, Budapest, London Gatwick, Madrid and Prague. The airline’s leading international destination is actually Paris CDG which it serves non-stop from Cagliari, Catania, Milan Linate, Olbia and Palermo.

Other international destinations served include Chisinau (in Moldova) and Pristina (in Serbia/Kosovo). New international routes started this summer include thrice-weekly flights from Florence to Berlin Tegel and thrice-weekly flights from Verona to Madrid. Last November a Turin to Krakow service was introduced (to replace SkyEurope services which had been axed) but this route appears to be ending in September.

Three domestic routes generate 25% of passengers
Although Meridiana operates 52 routes this summer just three routes account for around a quarter of the airline’s flights. From Cagliari there are 56 weekly departures to Rome Fiumicino, while from Olbia Milan Linate is served 49 times weekly and Rome Fiumicino 37 times weekly.

Around 85% of the airline’s flights are on domestic routes with international flights making up a relatively modest 15% of the total. The highest frequency international routes are Florence to London Gatwick (17 weekly departures) and Florence to Amsterdam (12 weekly departures).

Despite the commitment of trade unions, the agreement proposal made by the Italian ministry of labour and social policy to avoid layoffs from the airline, which is listed in the stock-market, has been refused directly by Meridiana group's CEO, Gianni Rossi. Refusal that will bring to the imminent firing of 43 pilots.

The previous contract signed with employees, that allowed the company to save about € 14 million in the past two years, has not been enough for Eurofly to find an economic balance despite market spaces left free by Alitalia.

Unione Piloti is forced to require an intervention from the major shareholder, prince Kharim Aga Khan, to avoid a tragic scenario for a great number of pilots.

On a tough course that yielded no double clears to any nation, Ireland finished in eighth place in the Aga Khan Trophy competition in Dublin on Friday on a total of 36 faults.

With 500/1 outsiders Italy taking the honours on 12 faults, Ireland could only claim one clear round, from Denis Lynch and Lantinus, but the combination then faulted twice second time out.

Only Cian O' Connor and Rancorrado improved their score, with just one fence down in the second round, while Billy Twomey and Je t'Aime Flamenco had eight faults in each round. Cameron Hanley and Southwind VDL were the second round discard score on 12 faults.

However, Ireland ended the eight-round season on sufficient points to remain in the Meydan Series super league for 2010, one of the world's top ten teams. France were the 2009 winners of the series after today's final.

Afterwards Horse Sport Ireland Team Manager Robert Splaine said: 'Today's result was obviously disappointing for me, but it was the end of the series and we did stay in the Meydan league for next year, and we did win one leg outright. For that I'd like to thank all the riders, owners and grooms. We were well organised and there was a great team spirit.'

After five splendid racing days with stable conditions featuring north to northeasterly winds, sunshine, blue skies and choppy seas, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2009 has drawn to a close. Organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, the event which is now in its 20th edition, saw 42 maxis competing and between five to seven races held for each of the various divisions over the course of the series. Niklas Zennstrom’s Judel Vrolijk designed 72’ Bermudian sloop Ran (GBR), launched this year and already winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2009, took victory in the Mini Maxi Racing 00 group. Four of the Mini Maxi Racing yachts qualified as owner-driven and among these Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo (NZL) took victory and a Rolex Yachtmaster timepiece. In the Mini Maxi Racing Cruising division Michael Cotter’s Reichel/Pugh designed 78 foot sloop Whisper (IRL) took first place in all but one of the five races to win her division by a 10-point margin. Claus Peter Offen’s Y3K (GER) dominated the Wally division with three bullets in six races, while in the Racing/Cruising division Roma – Aniene (ITA) led from day one and brought home an impressive four bullets over five races. It was in the Cruising/Spirit of Tradition division, however, that the J Class Velsheda (GBR) displayed the most impressive score sheet with a home run of five victories out of five races.

“This victory has come after a challenging week but I am really pleased because our team is not made up of professional sailors,” said Vasco Vascotto, tactician onboard Roma – Aniene. “We have put together a winning group all the same and we have achieved a great result.” He went on to explain that the team was put together by the C.C. Aniene - a sporting association based in Rome which has just created a new section to promote sailing. “This is the first step for C.C. Aniene in the world of sailing. My team’s enthusiasm is more than reward for what we went through this summer to get the boat in the water.”

Neville Crichton was pleased with his result and already thinking about his next race. “The boat is really fast and has fully lived up to our expectations. It is agile and speedy as a mini maxi racing boat must be. I am going to savour this victory for a while and then I will be concentrating on the Rolex Sydney Hobart.”

Winner’s of today’s races, held in 10 to 12 knots of breeze from 25°, were Ran for the Mini Maxi racing 00 group, Whisper in the Mini Maxi Racing Cruising division, Y3K in the Wally division, Roma – Aniene in e Racing/Cruising division and Velsheda in the Cruising/Spirit of Tradition Division.

The final prize giving was held on the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda’s Piazza Azzurra and the winners were awarded prizes by His Highness the Aga Khan, President of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, and Bruno Meyer, President of Rolex.

The YCCS racing season continues next week with the Audi Melges 20 Series and the Audi Melges 30 World Championship starting on 18th and 21st September respectively.

In the summer of 1958, the story goes, a luxury yacht was caught out by a storm off the northeastern coast of Sardinia. On board was the 21-year-old Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, descendant of Mohammed, multi­millionaire and spiritual leader to 15m Ismaili Muslims. The yacht’s captain battened down the hatches and took shelter in a narrow inlet while the winds howled and the waves crashed.

When the storm subsided, the Aga Khan came on deck. He found himself on a wild and sparsely inhabited coastline of pristine turquoise coves and macchia-clad headlands. For a moment, he thought he had stumbled on the earthly paradise.

Four years later, at a business lunch in London, he formed a consortium with a group of investors to buy 35 miles of this coast. The idea was to create a purpose-built holiday destination of villas, marinas and luxury hotels. Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda, the Emerald Coast, was born.

This may sound like the Costa del Sol, but it’s not. The Costa Smeralda was all very tasteful, in tune with the sophisticated aspirations of its wealthy clients. The architecture was traditional Mediterranean — tiled roofs, archways and cobbled terraces — the gardens were planted with oleander and bougainvillea, and the vibe was exclusive low-key luxury.

Fifty years on, the Costa Smeralda may not be quite as exclusive — there are moderate hotels, there are even camp sites — but it still cuts it as one of the Mediterranean’s chief celebrity hang-outs. Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Bruce Willis, Pierce Brosnan and Julia Roberts have kept the paparazzi busy. Oasis have holidayed here, although, naturally, the brothers needed to be in separate hotels, on separate bays.

Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s tireless prime minister, has a villa here. In fact, Papi reportedly has seven, the better to house his stream of young, affectionate and semi-clothed female “dinner guests”.

I tried to fit in, I really did. I swanned across the piazza for an evening cocktail and some subtle rubbernecking. For women, the dress code was all about the legs. Women here have legs the way Kansas has cornfields. They seemed to go on for ever. The thing was to show them off with something short, round and expensive. An escort who looked like Danny DeVito was ideal.

For the next two days, I orbited in the Costa’s parallel universe. I was whisked to a secret beach in a motor launch, where I was deposited with a picnic hamper and a set of monogrammed towels. I test-drove a few bellinis on the fashionable bar terraces of Porto Cervo. I dined at the splendid Pescatore restaurant, on the harbour — may I recommend the “young rooster in pistachio crust”? — while yachts the size of small liners slid noiselessly into berths in the warm darkness behind me.

Yet something niggled. Halfway through an excellent bottle of Friuli, overlooking the scattered lights of villas on the opposite hillside, I realised my heart wasn’t in it. Costa Smeralda was as pretty as an Italian television showgirl, but, like the showgirl, it was a bit short on personality, a bit artificial. It is a dreamy holiday destination, and you no longer need to be the Aga Khan to afford it, but, perversely, I was in the mood for the grit of real life.

Everywhere you go on the Sardinian coast, you feel the presence of the mountains, shouldering the horizons of the interior. I found my gaze constantly returning to them. In the past, for the wealthy habitués of Costa Smeralda, these mountains were where the ransom notes came from.

While outsiders may feel a little uneasy about the Sardinian interior, for the islanders they were a refuge.

Sardinians never trusted the sea. In the old days, when foreigners came to the coast, their interests ran more to rape and pillage than shopping and sunbathing. Sardinians preferred the sanctuary of the mountains, which became the heart and soul of the island.

Aga Khan of the Aga Khan Development Network poses for photographers before the morning session of the Global Zero Summit in Paris, France, 02 February 2010. The Global Zero Summit will convene 200 international political, military, business and religious leaders until February 04 to discuss a practical step-by-step plan for the phased, verified elimination of all nuclear weapons and to launch a global grassroots campaign. EPA/YOAN VALAT

Former Irish president Mary Robinson (L) talks to Aga Khan (R) of the Aga Khan Development Network before the morning session of the Global Zero Summit in Paris, France, 02 February 2010. The Global Zero Summit will convene 200 international political, military, business and religious leaders until February 04 to discuss a practical step-by-step plan for the phased, verified elimination of all nuclear weapons and to launch a global grassroots campaign. EPA/YOAN VALAT

His Highness the Aga Khan to speak at March 4-5 conference in Paris February 20, 2010
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan IV, Europe, Paris.
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excerpt:

The Marketplace on Innovative FinancialSolutions for Development, organized by the Agence Française deDéveloppement (AFD), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, andthe World Bank, will be held March 4-5, 2010 in the Cité des Sciences et del’Industrie in la Villette, Paris. The goal of this international eventis to foster the creation of newfinancial mechanisms to better address development challenges at the global, regional, or local levels.

–snip–

The event, to beopened by Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, Industry, andEmployment, will bring together leading experts on these issues. Thespeakers will include:Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Managing Director,The World BankGroup), Jean-Michel Severino(Director General, Agence Française deDéveloppement), Geoffrey Lamb (Managing Director, Public PolicyOperations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Philippe DousteBlazy (Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Special Adviserto the Secretary General on Innovative Financing for Development, Chairof the Board of UNITAID), Rachel Kyte (Vice President, InternationalFinance Corporation), Eckhard Deutscher (Development AssistanceCommittee Chair, OECD), and His Highness the Aga Khan.http://www.mynews.in/News/World_Bank_Foster_New_Financing_Solutions_fo

The Aga Khan, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, and owner of the horse Sarafina, right, holds his award as Australian pop singer Micky Green, left, applauses, at the Prix de Diane horse race, in Chantilly, West of Paris, Sunday June 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

******

Sarafina Soars to Victory in Prix de Diane
By Mary Schweitzer

Sarafina followed up her win in the Montjeu Coolmore Prix Saint-Alary (Fr-I) last month with a scintillating performance to take the Prix de Diane (Fr-I) by 1 1/2-lengths at Chantilly June 13. The victory gave the Aga Khan a one-two finish in the Diane, as stablemate Rosanara came flying home late to claim second.

The victory by Sarafina provided both the Aga Khan and trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre with their sixth wins in the French classic.

Valasyra, who was entered as a pacemaker by Royer-Dupre, went straight to the front as Sarafina was settled into sixth by jockey Christophe Lemaire. Rosanara sat just off her stablemate in seventh. Racing just in front of that pair in fifth was Deluxe, the royally-bred Juddmonte filly who had finished second to Sarafina in the Saint-Alary last time out.

As the field entered the home straight, jockey Maxime Guyon was the first to make his move, as he angled Deluxe toward a narrow opening along the inside rail. Unfortunately, the gap closed as quickly as it appeared, sandwiching Deluxe between a tiring Valasyra and A Media Luz. By the time Guyon was able to extricate his filly and get her into the clear it was too late, as the daughter of Storm Cat was spent from all of the bumping and banging, and could do no better than a tired fourth.

Unlike Deluxe, Sarafina had clear sailing on the outside and rolled past the field, taking command of the race with just over a furlong to run. The daughter of Refuse to Bend drew off to win comfortably by 1 1/2 lengths.

Rosanara made up ground late to take second, finishing another 1 1/2-lengths in front of Sandbar. Final time for the ten furlongs was 2:07.80 over a course rated as ‘soft.'

The Aga Khan was delighted to celebrate a double in a classic that has been incredibly important to his career as an owner and a breeder. He said after the race, “I would like to thank the teams who bred these fillies and the one that trains them.

“Both fillies were born and bred in France. One comes from an old French family that came to my stud when I bought the stock of Mrs. Dupre. The other one comes from my own stud.”

“I am often asked when I will produce a great colt. But it’s the great fillies that are more important for the stability and the future of my stud, and that is what is important to me.”

Trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre had nothing but praise for his stable staff, saying after the race, “It is very important for me to point out the teamwork behind such a success. The winter is long and the work repetitive. You have to be passionate and you need to take great care every morning. Races are won in the morning.”

Regarding the future plans for his two fillies, Royer-Dupre said, “As to Rosanara, there is no doubt that she will stay the mile and a half and she will be going for the Prix Vermeille (Fr-I).

“Sarafina's case is a little different and I think we would like to keep her to the mile and a quarter and nurture her along. We still haven't seen the best of her.”

PARIS — Odds-on favourite Sarafina won the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) at Chantilly racecourse on Sunday to give trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre his sixth victory in the race.

Indeed the 66-year-old trainer had double reason to celebrate as he saddled the second as well in the shape of 13/1 chance Roasanara.

Both the first two home were owned by His Highness the Aga Khan for whom de Royer-Dupre had trained his previous five winners including the remarkable Zarkava in 2008 who went on to win the Arc de Triomphe.

"I am very happy, they are two very good fillies," the Aga Khan said.

"Sarafina is unbeaten but we don't know what her next step will be.

"To have our fillies placed 1-2 is a positive sign for the future of our breeding operations, which is very important."

Sarafina, the 9/10 favourite, was always racing calmly placed in the middle of the nine runner field by jockey Christophe Lemaire, who allowed pacemaker and stablemate Valasyra to set the pace.

However, Lemaire, winning his third Diane after previous victories on Divine Proportions and last year on Stacelita, produced his filly early in the straight and with 300 metres of the 2100 metres distance to go he pushed the final button.

Sarafina, who came into the race unbeaten in her only two previous starts, had the right answer and eased past Zagora, in the colours of Stacelita's winning owner, former US Marine Manny Schwartz, to strike the front.

She went on to become only the third winner of the classic prep race the Prix Saint Alary to do the double in the past 20 years.

Her performance left Lemaire with an indelible impression.

"She is a superb filly and gave me scarcely any worries at all, just one brief moment in getting her balance," said Lemaire.

"She has great acceleration and a great temperament. There were no real problems during the race, she settled very well and, once asked the question, she responded in style.

"I wasn't concerned by the poor record of Saint-Alary winners prior to this as I knew from riding her she was a Diane filly."

Rosanara, under five-time Diane winning jockey Gerald Mosse, was the only one who looked likely to challenge but last year's Prix Marcel Boussac winner could find no more with 100 metres to go and settled for a gallant second.

Sandbar, trained by Francois Rohaut, had also put in a challenge prior to that but the 6/1 chance also didn't find enough and took third leaving her crack jockey Olivier Peslier still without a win in the French Oaks in 17 attempts.

Deluxe was the big disappointment of the race as, having finished just half a length down to Sarafina in the Group One Prix Saint Alary last time out, she was never in the hunt and had little in the tank when Maxime Guyon asked her for a bigger effort.

She ended up finishing fourth and leaving legendary French trainer Andre Fabre with a relatively paltry three Prix de Diane victories to his name while De Royer-Dupre edged closer to the record of wins for a trainer in the race of Henry Jennings, who won nine between 1843 and 1875.

This is an unofficial blog and has no connection with www.agakhanstuds.com which is the official site of His Highness the Aga Khan Ever since I can remember I have followed His Highness in his horse racing and bloodstock operation-I know there are many of you who also are passionate about this too There will be a daily update on the runners and results as well as articles, some are written by myself and some are from other websites Hope you enjoy this blog and feel free to contact me anytime.

Prince Aga Khan to help renovate National Monument in Portugal
July 21, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan IV, Europe, Portugal.
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Prince Aga Khan and Vasco Pereira Coutinho help replace the roof of the Cathedral in Silves
Translated from Portuguese, source via http://www.barlavento.online.pt

Silves Cathedral reopens its doors after eight months of work

Excerpt translated via Google.
The Cathedral of Silves, classified as National Monument since 1922, reopens doors already on the 17th of this month, after a long shutdown period for maintenance and restoration that began eight months ago but the need for which had been since 2006.

At the time, the parish began to limit the scope of the tiny cult area of ribbed vaults of stone, where apparently there was no danger of falling from the roof, which caused embarrassment in the achievement of the celebrations and limited the number of participants. Later the same cathedral was closed entirely and the celebrations of the Eucharist had to be transferred to the chapel of the parish complex in front of the Gothic cathedral.

The Corporation formally accepted a $2 million donation at its October meeting from Prince Karim Aga Khan IV P'95 to fund a visiting professor of Islamic humanities. The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili branch of Islam, has a "long-standing connection" to Brown, said Vice President for International Affairs Matthew Gutmann.

His son, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, graduated from the University in 1995. Karim Aga Khan received an honorary degree from Brown in 1996, according to a May 1996 University press release.

The Aga Khan gave the gift in honor of former University president Vartan Gregorian.

"Having the Aga Khan Visiting Professor of Islamic Humanities means that we can have a really prominent figure and expert in these areas at a time when the more knowledge about the Muslim world and Islam, the better," Gutmann said.

Gutmann said the University hopes to have someone in the post for one or both semesters of next school year. The position is intended to continue for many years into the future, he said, adding that the position will allow the University to bring in experts from a wide range of disciplines, including religion, history, anthropology and comparative literature. The visiting professor will come from any of the various disciplines depending on who is thought to be the best for the job in a given year, and will be affiliated with the Cogut Center for Humanities, Gutmann said.

Associate Professor of History Vazira Zamindar is heading the search committee to find the first Aga Khan Visiting Professor of Islamic Humanities. She said the search committee includes two other faculty members, Assistant Professor of Anthropology Sherine Hamdy and Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Middle East Studies Melani Cammett.

"Together we have generated a list of names of people who work in this field or might have an interest in this position," Zamindar said about the search process thus far. She said she plans to "reach out to them and, through them, get the word out about the new position."

NEW YORK—Prince Karim Aga Khan IV has established the Aga Khan Visiting Professor of Islamic Humanities at Brown University in honor of Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York, who served from 1988 to 1997 as President of Brown University. The gift of $2 million was announced following the October meeting of the Corporation of Brown University.

Vartan Gregorian
The university said that the gift will allow Brown to bring in experts from a wide range of disciplines, including religion, history, anthropology and comparative literature. The Aga Khan Visiting Professor of Islamic Humanities will come from any of the various disciplines depending on who is thought to be the best for the job in a given year, and will be affiliated with the Cogut Center for Humanities.

For many years, Vartan Gregorian served on the Board of the Aga Khan University. During Dr. Gregorian’s tenure as president of Brown University, the Aga Khan was the first Muslim spiritual leader to give a Baccalaureate Address at a major American university. He is also the recipient of an honorary degree from Brown University, from which his son, Prince Rahim Aga Khan, graduated.

The Aga Khan, 49th hereditary Imam (Spiritual Leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, has emphasized the view of Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith: one that teaches compassion and tolerance and that upholds the dignity of man, Allah’s noblest creation. In the Shia tradition of Islam, it is the mandate of the Imam of the time to safeguard the individual’s right to personal intellectual search and to give practical expression to the ethical vision of society that the Islamic message inspires. Addressing as Chairman, the International Conference on the Example (Seerat) of the Prophet Muhammad in Karachi in 1976, the Aga Khan said that the wisdom of Allah’s final Prophet in seeking new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, provides the inspiration for Muslims to conceive a truly modern and dynamic society, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam.

“I am deeply moved and extremely grateful that the Aga Khan has chosen to make this wonderful gift to Brown University in my honor,” said Vartan Gregorian. “It is particularly meaningful to me because the Aga Khan is internationally recognized as a major activist for civilized humanity and in promoting the universal values that unite and transcend us all. And he believes that education, self-reliance, solidarity and character are the elements which keep a community vibrant and healthy and lead to enlightenment and dignity. In addition, he supports the education of women as central to global progress. I salute him, I thank him, and I celebrate the bond that he has created with Brown University today, and with the generations of students, faculty, scholars and others who will continue to benefit from his generosity on into the future.”

In 2005, at ceremonies held in Scotland, His Highness the Aga Khan was one of six recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. Recipients are nominated by all the Carnegie organizations throughout the United States and Europe, and selected by a Committee comprising representatives of six of those institutions. The award recognizes individuals and families with exceptional and sustained records of philanthropic giving and whose philanthropic efforts embody Andrew Carnegie’s deeply held belief that with wealth comes responsibility and that private wealth should serve the public good. The Aga Khan is internationally recognized as a major philanthropist who supports development projects in Uganda, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, among other countries. In addition, he founded the Aga Kahn University in Pakistan, as modern, co-educational research university. It was granted its charter in 1983 as the nation’s first private, autonomous university.

NASSAU — The Bahamian lawyer for Prince Karim Aga Khan IV promised residents of Black Point, Exuma that the development of Bell Island in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park will mean jobs for residents of the nearby settlement.

Gail Lockhart-Charles said that the development on Bell Island has already provided employment for Black Point residents as well as residents in other parts of Exuma, Long Island and Nassau.

"And that's been going on since the owner acquired the island," she said told residents at a town meeting held in Black Point by the Save The Exuma Park (STEP) committee on Saturday.

She also promised that there would be some full-time employment.

"There will be employment in landscaping jobs, there will be employment in construction jobs, employment on the buildings that will be located on the island," she said.

However, Lockhart-Charles cautioned residents that there will be no windfall of positions.

"This isn't Atlantis' phase four. So we're not talking about thousands of jobs. This is a private residence that is a private retreat for his highness and his family," she said. "But there will be significant jobs. There will be short-term jobs as well as long-term jobs."

She said the contractor has committed to using qualified Black Point residents during construction whenever possible.

Lockhart-Charles said there will also be long-term jobs at a major native plant nursery that the prince plans to construct.

"He intends to build and restore Bell Island to its natural appearance and keep the building footprints to an absolute minimum," she said. "It will be three to four acres upon completion and will grow specimen native trees with a palate focused on rare-endemic canopy trees.

"The native plant specimen trees that are grown in the nursery will also be offered for use for ecological restoration on other islands."

Several weeks ago the government approved the request of the Aga Khan to dredge a yacht basin to accommodate 150-foot vessels at Bell Island.

Lockhart-Charles also tried to allay residents' concerns about that.

"His highness is an environmentalist and is interested in preserving the natural resources of The Bahamas, and is investing in the science of that," she said.

The dredging has yet to begin as the developer still needs to submit an environmental management plan.